Sunday, August 29, 2010

Washington, D.C.--Conservative icon Glenn Beck and 2008 VicePresidential nominee Sarah Palin stood in the same spotwhere Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his "I have a dream"speech 47 years ago and called for Americans to "return toGod" in order to save America's honor.

A huge crowd approaching the permit limit of 300,000 allowedby U.S. Park Police assembled on the National Mall, theirranks stretching from the marble steps of the LincolnMemorial to the grassy knoll of the Washington Momument.

The audience, mostly white and apparently, to a hugepercentage, members of the Tea Party, listened as the twoultr-conservative public figures praised the philosophy ofDr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a civil rights activist whoreceived the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts fightingdiscrimination in housing, transportation, voting rights andemployment.

The Rev. Al Sharpton protested the selection of the veryanniversary of Dr. King's "I have a dream speech." Hisfollowers assembled at a high school and then the Reverendled them on a three-mile march to the Tidal Basin near theMall.

He made fun of the white crowd at the Lincoln Memorial,saying they were the people who once looked at civil rightsactivists as troublemakers. "The folks who used tocriticize us for marching are trying to have a march oftheir own."

Mr. Beck said the choice of dates for the restore honorrally was just a matter of "providence."

Almost all his remarks were of a religious nature.

Knowledgeable observers told news analysts that they feelthe large turnout of Tea Party activists at the event showsthe new element in conservatism will be able to swing theNovember elections.